Emery Davis wrote:


> Are you implying, sir, that the whole problem is caused by the French?
> Not only do they perfect (one might argue) the art of wine making,
> they go ahead and come up with the analytical theory of heat (diffusion)?
> And insist on 50 C cellars??

LOL!
>
> Actually Fourier's book is surprisingly accessible to the layman. It
> was included in the "Great Books" series that my folks had, and I
> was able to take a reasonable whack at it in high school with only
> basic calculus. He has a very physical and geometrical approach to
> the whole problem. I confess I had an easier time of it in real analysis,
> but the book does convey some of the beauty of boundary value pde's
> without insisting on more arcane variational techniques.

Actually, I'd think first of D'Alambert, another Frenchie, whose
solution applies both to this pde and the wave equation IIRC.

>
> Totally useless when it comes to the thoroughly tactile decision
> of "is it warm/cold enough?"

agreed


> Why do tennis players wear white shorts?

Because they'd be arrested for indecent exposure if they didn't, silly!

Mark Lipton